Cord elastic suspender end assemblage



June 4, 1935. 1 w. JOYCE CORD ELASTIC SUSPENDER END ASSEMBLAGE FiledMarch 27, 1954 L y/vDoN W. llo VCE Patented June 4, 1935l CORD ELASTICSUSPENDER END Y ASSEMBLAGE Lyndon W. Joyce, Greensboro, N. C., assignorto Southern Webbing Mills, Inc.,

Greensboro,

N. C., a corporation of North Carolina Application March 27,

Claims.

absorbed through the contact of the suspender 15. with the sweaty shirtof the wearer, and which moisture ordinarily quickly rots the rubber andreduces the elasticity ci the webbing.

More specically, those objects which relate to the preservation ci therubber are the employment of cord rubber elastic which makes linecontactl with the underlying garment and therefore has the minimumabsorptive capacity, and

` the location of that part of the attaching portion of the cord elasticin a Ventilating chamber in the webbing, and substantially out ofcontact with said webbing. Y

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following descriptionof preferred and practical embodiments thereof proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing, which forms a part ofthe followingspecification andthroughout the several figures of which the samecharac-l ters of reference have beenemployed to designate identicalparts:

' Figure l is a front elevation partly in section of an elastic endassemblage embodying the prin-Y ciples of the present invention;

y Figure 2 is a side section;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a suspender end showing the device ofthe present invention attached to the end oi-` a suspender;

Figure 4 is a front elevation partly in section showing a slightlymodified form of the invention;

Figure 5 is a front elevation partly in section showing still anothermodication;

Figure 6 is a side sectional View of the form of the invention shown inFigure 5; and

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a portion of the cord elasticillustrating its construction.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, and tothat form of theinvention shown in Fig*- ures 1, 2 and 3, the numeral I represents ashort length of webbing preferably inelastic folded or doubled uponitself to form a stirrup. The bot- 1934, Serial No. 717,661

tom of the stirrup I is provided with spaced openings 2 and 3, faced orlined by riveted eyelets 4 and 5. A spacer 6 having a fair degree ofrigidity, but' preferably not absolutely rigid is riveted under theeyelets il and 5 and bridges the space between them on the inside of thestirrup i. The free ends of the length of webbing which form the stirrupare adapted to be inserted in the tubular end l of an overall shoulderstrap for example, and to be united thereto by suitable stitching 8.

The reference numeral 9 designates the elastic button loop whichcomprises a length of cord elastic I0 inserted into one of the eyelets 4or 5 and out of the other and having its free ends I I and I2 and theopposite side portion I3 brought together within a metallic clamp I4 andsecured against slippage by the constriction of said clarnp.v The lowerpart of the elastic cord is expanded to form a button engaging portionI5.

The Vuse of the deviceis of course obvious. The portion i5 engagesabutton on the inelastic: part of the trousers or overall-and a'variabletension is thus created in the button loopt. On account of the fact thatmost oi'theelastic button loop is outside of the stirrup l, the capacityof the button loop to stretch is not impaired by4 pull upon the same indiagonal directions-represented by the broken lines a or b. This isquite an4 advantage over known devices in which the buttonl loop isformed'o'f inelastic material and depends for its elasticity upon anelastic member situated altogether within the stirrup. In suchconstructions, while the capacity to stretch is not impeded when thepull is in a downward direction, any' change in direction makesavailable only a co ponent of the elasticity provided by the sourcewhich is concealed within the stirrup,

t will be understood that cord elastic has been chosen for-the materialof the button loop in View of the fact that the round shape of its'cross section causes it to engage the underlying garment solely withaline contact. It is preferredv in the present invention to employ acordelasticv in which the core is made up of a plurality ofrubber strands 20as shown in Figure 7, the core being covered while under tension.

Consequently, if the underlying garment is 'moist with perspiration,only a minimum amount of this moisture can be absorbed by the cordelastic. It is well known that the deterioration of the elasticity ofelastic webbing is due to the `effect of moisture upon the rubber. Thisdeterioration is brought about in two ways. In the rst place, moisturelubricates rubber and when an ordinary piece of rubber elastic webbingbecomes moist, the woven fabric loses its grip upon the Yrubber strandswhich tend to contract concentrating the entire force of theircontraction at the points at which the webbing is stitched to theadjacent fabric. The rubber soon breaks at this point if tensioned whilewet. Moisture and particularly moisture of an acid nature such asperspiration quickly rots the rubber, destroying its elasticity andcausing breakage. By minimizing the absorption of perspiration throughthe use of round cord rubber the life of the elastic is thus greatlyprolonged.

It will of course be conceded that a chain is no stronger than itsweakest link, and ifV provision were not made for keeping dry that partI, the quick deterioration of the rubber at this point would cause thebutton loop to break. It will be observed however,` particularly fromFigure 2, that the provision of the eyelets 4 and 5 and the spacer 6, atthe bottom of the stirrup gives a substantial width dimension to thestirrup and holds the sides of the stirrup somewhat apart. Furthermore,the ends of the stirrup are open as indicated at I6 in Figure 2. Aventilated chamber is thus'provided and the portion of the cord elasticwhich traverses this chamber is held out of Vcontact with the webbingwhich forms the stirrup. Therefore, regardless of `how soaked thewebbing I may become with perspiration the elastic cord within thestirrup remains dry.

Mention has been made of the fact that the spacers G are fairly sti, butpreferably not absolutely rigid. This protects the cord elastic againstrupture should it be subjected to a sharp pull in a diagonal direction,while at the same time, assuring that in the normal operation of thesuspender the two sides of the cord elastic shall be kept apart. Under asudden diagonal pull the spacer yields slightly dampening the impact ofthe strain taken by the cord elastic at the points adjacent the eyeletswhere it abruptly changes its direction. Y

Figure 4 shows a slightly modified form of the invention in which twobutton loops share the same eyelets. These of course are adapted to besecured to adjacent buttons preferably at the back of the overalls andthe strain in the lateral flexing of the body is transferred from onebutton loop to the other.

Insofar as the principle of the invention is concerned, it is the samein this form as in that previously described.

In Figure 5, a further modification of the invention is illustratedwhich is perhaps somewhat simpler to construct and assemble than theforms which have already been described.v An arcuate metal spacer II isprovided of channeled cross section, and preferably substantially aswide as the stirrup in which it is freely inserted. The upper portion ofthe cord elastic button loop 9 is seated in the channel of said spacer,the latter being provided with lugs I8 which are pressed upsubstantially against the seated portion of the cord elastic buttonloop, holding it in the spacer. but leaving it free to stretch andcontract. The length of webbing I forming the stirrup is simply passedthrough the bight I9 formed by the upper part of the button loop and thetwo ends of said length folded one against the other, then inserted intoVthe tubular webbing l and then stitched in place. The arcuate nature ofthe spacer I'I assures that it will always remain properly centered inthe bottom of the stirrup.

It will be observed that the feature of maintaining the concealed partof the cord elastic button loop dry is carried out in this form of theinvention as well ,as in the previously described forms. The spacer I'Ikeeps the two sides of the stirrup apart, and furthermore, the spacersubstantially surrounds the cord elastic by a metal sheath whichprevents it contacting with the fabric of the stirrup.

While I have in the above description disclosed what I believe to bepreferred and practical forms of the invention, it is to be understoodthat the illustrations are merely by Way of example and that the detailsof construction as shown and described may be varied according to thedesires or requirements of manufacture without transcending the scope ofthe invention as dened in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. Suspender' end assembly comprising a piece of fabric folded to form astirrup, spaced perforations through the bottom of said stirrup, eyeletslining said perforations, and a button loop including a cord elasticportion, said portion passing through said eyelets in interlinkedrelation to said stirrup, and means for keeping said interlinked portionout of direct contact with the fabric of said stirrup.

2. Suspender end assembly as claimed in claim l, the means for keepingsaid interlinked portion out of direct contact with said stirrupincluding in part a spreader bridging the space between said eyelets.

3. Suspender end assembly as claimed in claim 1, the means for keepingsaid interlinked portion out of direct contact with the fabric of saidstirrup comprising. a spreader of such degree of rigidity as to yieldslightly under a pull of impactive force.

4. Suspender end assembly comprising a piece of fabric folded to form astirrup, spaced perforations through the bottom of said stirrup, and abutton loop including a cord elastic portion, said elastic portionpassing through said perforations in interlinked relation to saidstirrup.

5. Suspender end assembly comprising a piece of fabric folded to form astirrup, spaced perforations through the bottom of said stirrup, eyeletslining said perforations, and a button loop including a cord elasticportion, said portion passing through said eyelets in interlinkedrelation to said stirrup.

LYNDON W. JOYCE.

